The language of
the Asparukh and Kuber Bulgars, Vocabulary and grammar

A phonetic model of the language of the Asparukh and Kuber Bulgars

One of the most characteristic features of the old Bulgar language is
the high frequency of the sound KH, occurring in specific combinations
– in words such as ALKHASI, EALKH, OLKH, ALKH, KHUMSKHI, KHONSA, DOKHS,
SHEKHTEM, KAVKHAN, etc. Of the total number of 53 words from the stone
inscriptions and the Nominalia,
15 of them, or nearly 30%, contain the sound of KH. This is characteristic
neither for the Slavic nor for the Thracian languages. The same peculiarity
is seen and in the names of the Bulgar khans and boljars: AVITOKHOL, ASPARUKH,
VINEKH, ESKHACH, OKHSUN, SANDILKH, KHINIALON, and also in the names of
the Bulgar clans and towns – IRTKHITUIN, TUTKHON, BIKHARJA. 6 out of 12
words known from the language of the Volga Bulgars also contain KH – the
words KHALANDZH, KHADANK, KHALICHE, KHVILI, SAKHRADZH and KHUT. Similar
is the situation and in the lands populated by the Kuber Bulgars, where
three of the most populous towns were called OKHRID, KHIMAR and KHTETOVO.

There are not too many languages in the world with such high frequency
of KH. It occurs mainly in the Pamirian languages, for example – in the
Ishkashimi and Jazguljami, in which KH frequently substitutes the K or
G sounds of other Indo-European languages. Even more – most of the Bulgar
words containing KH are Pamirian in origin or were remodelled under a Pamirian
influence. Such are the words ALKHA (from which was derived ALKHASI), KHLOBRIN,
DOKHS (compare also to the Persian TOKHS), KHONSA, SHEKHTEM, KAVKHAN, as
well as the personal names ASPARUKH, AVITOKHOL, SANDILKH, VINEKH, etc.

Most of the Volga Bulgar words are also found in the Pamirian languages
– such as KHALICHE (‘a lake’), KHADANG (‘a white poplar’), KHALANDZH (‘a
type of oak’), SAKHRADZH (‘an earthen pot’). The combinations KHS,
TKH,
LKH
are mostly found around the Pamirs (for example the name of the town of
Balkh, the mountain Balkhan, also words such as TALKH – bitter, KLF
– key, CHAKHS – a blanket, PETKH – a meat, etc. in the Ishkashimi. The
name of Balkh, containing the combination LKH is attested as early as in
the V c. BC, while in the III-IV c. AD in that region were mentioned the
names of the peoples ALKHON and VALKHON, containing the same combination
of sounds.

These old Bulgar–Eastern correspondences are summarized in the table
below:

Old Bulgar word

Eastern analogy

ALKH

ALGKH – to help (Sarikoli)

ALKHASI

ALKHA – a ring (Sarikoli)

BEKHTI – senior, responsible

BEKHT – responsible (Khufi)

DOKHS – a wild boar

TOKHS – dirty (Persian)

TOKH – a cock

TUKH – a hen (Sarikoli)

TOKHOL – a son, a child

TEKHEL – a child (Sarikoli)

KHONSA – a thief

KHOS – a thief (Kashm.)

The sound DZH as well as CH, SH and S were
also very frequent in old Bulgar:

DZH (DZ) – DZHENTU, DZERA, HALANDZH, SAKHRADZH, SUDZHUV

CH – CHIGOT, ICHIRGU, ICHIGI, CHITEM, CHIKA

SH – SHEGOR, SHEKHTEM, KORMISOSH, SHAR, TULSHI, etc.

S – TESI, ESTROGIN, SOMOR, SARAKT, ASPARUKH

Of the 37 words in the stone inscriptions (leaving aside the Nominalia),
18, or nearly 50%, contain consonants of this type. This peculiarity –
the wide use of the affricates and the spirantes is one of the most characteristic
features of the Pamirian languages.

Sound

Old Bulgar word

Eastern analogy

DZH

DZHENTU – a personal name

DZHENDO – violent, unruly (Talish)

SUDZHUV – a mead, a hydromel

SIDZHU – a sweet drink (Ishkashimi)

KHALANDZH – a type of tree

KHALANDZH – a type of oak (Pashto)

DZ

DZERA – a messenger

DZJRAJ
– a messenger (Pashto)

Z

ZABERGAN – a personal name

ZABER – a power, a strength (Talish)

ANZI – a personal name

ANZA – a personal name (Persian)

C

COK – a personal name

COK – a dew (Sarikoli)

CH

CHIGOT – a swordsman

CHIKO – a sword (Sarikoli)

CHDAR-Bolkar (a Bulgar tribe in Caucasus)

CHIDAR – separated (Dardic)

KHALICHE – a lake

KHALICHA – a lake (Pashto)

SH

SHEGOR – a bull

SHEG – a calf (Khufi)

SHEKHTEM – sixth

SHETTEM – sixth (Sak.)

S

ISPERIKH

ISPURIG (Parthian)

ESTROGIN

ESTRIKA – a knitting (Mundzhani)

Thus the old Bulgar words containing the sounds of DZH, DZ, Z, C, CH,
SH, S, have a number of Pamirian counterparts. The same is also true for
the specific sound SHT. In Bulgaria it is attested as early as in
the X c. AD in the word KSHTA (‘a
house’), as well as in the old word KAPISHTE (‘[heathen] shrine’). The
Pamirian and Dardic analogies of KSHTA
sound as KSHTAJ (in Pashto) and GKHOSHT
in the Dardic languages. There are more correspondences: to the Bulgar
PUSHT (‘an offshoot, an offspring’) corresponds the Pamirian PUSHT (‘an
offspring, a clan’); to the Bulgarian STUD (‘cold [noun]’) – the Pamirian
SHTUD (in Ishkashimi); to the Bulgarian words SHTUREC (‘cricket [an insect]’)
and SHTERICA (‘a barren sheep’) – the Pamirian SHTUR (‘long-legged’) and
SHTERAJ (‘barren’).

More correspondences are listed in the table below:

Sound

Old Bulgar word

Eastern analogy

G

SHEGOR

SHEG (Khufi)

B

BOILA

BOIL – a name of a village (Wakhi)

V

VER – a dragon

WARAN – a dragon (Tadzhik)

DV

DVAN – a hare

DVAK – a type of hare (Ishkashimi)

STR

ESTROGIN

ESTRIKA – a knitting (Mundzhani)

ND

VANAND – a personal name

WANANDO – a victor (Kushan)

Another table lists the vowel correspondences:

Sound

Old Bulgar word

Eastern analogy

A

DZERA

DZJRA

ASO – mortal remains

ASO – dust, ash (noun)

DVAN

DWAK, DWANCHI

O

DOKHS

TOKHS

OLKH

OLKKH

BOILA

BOIL, BOLO – high

E

SHEGOR

SHEG

DZHENTU

DZHENDO

TEKU – a horse

TEKU – a donkey (Sarikoli)

I

BIRI-BAGAIN

BIR – (cavalry) squadron (Pashto)

CHIT – to honour

CHIT – to honour (Wakhi)

GILS – a urn

GILOS – a urn

U

BORU – a stronghold

BORU (Persian)

KHUMSHI – a cast armour

KHUNCHA – a cast tray

JU

JUK BOILA

JUG – a team (of horses, oxen) (Mundzhani)

One of the most characteristic features here is the high frequency of
the sound I – it occurs 21 times in the 37 words from the inscriptions.
Next to it according to their frequency come A and O, while
E
and U are least frequent – they appear in only a quarter of all
words. A similar frequency picture is characteristic for the Pamirian languages
– in them I is the most frequent vowel, while E and U
are the rarest. The reason for that is the frequent use in the Pamirian
languages of the suffixes -I and -GI. Similar is the situation
in the old Bulgar – BIRI BAGAIN, TAGROGI ITSIGI TAISI, etc. The low frequency
of the sound E is a general feature of the languages of the Iranian
plateau and the Hindu-Kush. In the easternmost languages of that group,
such as the Sogdian and the Saka languages, E appeared only around the
I c. BC – I c. AD from the transformation of the combinations AKHI and
AI.

The most interesting and most important feature of old Bulgar was, however,
the sound . It appears even in
the name of the Asparukh Bulgars (BLGAR),
but as the Greek alphabet lacks a letter for this sound, it was represented
by U. For sure, the Bulgarian
is of old origin. It is present in many words which are distinctively Bulgarian
and occur in non-Slavic words: KSHTA
(‘a house’), KT (‘a nook, a corner’),
KS (‘short’) KHSH
(‘an outcast, a [former] hero’), TRS
(‘trot’), etc., some of them (KSHTA)
attested as early as the X c. AD. Even more interesting is that these special
words are found in almost the same form in the Pamirs and the Hindu-Kush
mountains:

Modern Bulgarian word

Pamirian word

KT

KT

KSHTA

KHSHT

KS

KC

TNK
– thin

TNK

BDNE –
a urn

BDNAJ –
a urn

TRS

TRC

KHSH

KHSH

Even more – the inhabitants of the Pamirs in their everyday life use
a number of interjections containing the sound ,
which are also similar to the Bulgarian ones: